Murray's Widow, his fourth play for the Abbey, is a surreal nightmare revolving around a killing and a funeral. With a macabre sense of humor, he explores the sense of confusion and harsh reality of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland's border counties today. Neil Donnelly has had five plays produced by the National Theatre Society since 1980. His comedy, The Duty Master, deals with an Irish-born school teacher who has rejected his roots to the extent that he has become "more English than the English." Marital strife, combined with a visit from his brother to the exclusive public school north of London where he works, results in his being forced to reconsider his personal and national identity. In Asylum! Asylum! Donal O'Kelly explores the mysteries and horrors of Irish Asylum Law (or the lack of it). With humor, compassion, and anger, O'Kelly presents the plight of an illegal African immigrant. Niall Williams's A Little Like Paradise depicts with hope and humor the regeneration of a small Western Irish town unknown to the European community and ignored by Dublin. The final play in the collection, Tom Mac Intyre's Sheep's Milk on the Boil is set on a remote island off the Irish coast.

Hide more